


There is More to Life than Brewing

by dalia (Dalia)



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Rigel Black Chronicles - murkybluematter, Tortall - Tamora Pierce
Genre: Canon compliant through FF13, F/F, Post FF13, This just in, no beta we die like men, there is more to life than potions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-23
Updated: 2021-01-23
Packaged: 2021-03-14 14:54:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,182
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28922424
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dalia/pseuds/dalia
Summary: After the reveal, Harry tries to return to a semi-normal life.
Relationships: Harriet Potter | Rigel Black/Ginny Weasley
Comments: 8
Kudos: 41
Collections: Rigel Black Chronicles Masquerade 2021





	There is More to Life than Brewing

“It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s…”

Harry sighed as Archie made the announcement over the magically enhanced megaphone. Ever since figuring out their animagus forms, Archie had reached no end to the fun he found in making jokes about Harry’s avian form. 

Jokes established, Harry returned to the ground. It always felt freeing to adopt her animagus form, even if its inception had occurred in a moment of strife. That moment, in and of itself, had been a truly transitional moment. Managing to accept that a part of her really did just want to run away from it all, and that this part was just as much a part of her as all the other parts. Accepting this quality she had perceived as weakness was all it took, and she was soaring away into the night sky. Since then, of course, things had yet to settle down. Wizarding Britain was still in an uproar over the situation and her parents weren’t much better. At least, even though they hadn’t exactly been pleased, she and Archie weren’t disowned. That was a start. 

“Ha-wee!” Addy shrieked as Harry landed next to the toddler and began to transform. Harry was already shaking her head in wonderment as she left the transformation. Even at the height of the ruse, Addy had always been able to identify her big sister. 

Smiling, she watched Archie pick Addy up and swing her around as though she were his own sister. In a way, she supposed, they were all siblings. 

Sappy thoughts such as these had plagued Harry since her return home. She shook her head at the thought, but it lingered. Smiling, she headed downstairs to her lab to work. 

Once in the lab, Harry settled into her regular routine of using many cauldrons at once in order to brew as efficiently as possible. Even though she was no longer at Hogwarts and no longer needed the speed it afforded her, there was something calming in devoting all her mental focus to the simple task of brewing. 

* * *

Behind her, the door swung open and she felt air move as someone entered the room behind her and put their hands over her eyes. 

“Guess who!” came a familiar voice. 

Harry sighed, before realizing that her guard was down too far. Spinning and slamming her shields back down, she confronted her visitor. 

“Wh- Ginny?” she asked incredulously. “Why are you here?” 

Smirking, Ginny replied, “Well, I heard that my friend Harry’s cousin had turned out to be some sort of imposter, and I wanted to see how my friend was holding up. So I thought, why not pay the Potters a visit?” 

Harry crossed her arms, filing away the fact that Ginny had called her a friend for later, and gave the other girl a long look. “Okay. Now, why are you really here?” 

When unimpressed didn’t work, Harry finally tried The Look. Turned out, Ginny wasn’t as immune to it as she might have thought herself to be, and looked away in defeat shortly thereafter. 

“Okay, you got me. Harry, I know that you could lie because you’re apparently really freaking good at that, but I’m going to ask you to tell me the truth. Are you Rigel?” 

Harry was stunned. How did _Ginny_ of all people know who she was? But, thinking back, it made sense. She had been inside Ginny’s head more than almost anyone else’s, so it was only reasonable that Ginny would notice something eventually. The girl was terrifyingly observant, and she kept her mouth shut when it mattered. That, and only that (Harry told herself), was why she felt her mouth open and the word “Yes” leave her lips. 

* * *

All of a sudden, the door to the lab swung open and Archie bounced through it. 

His interruption calmed the tense environment in the lab. Harry and Ginny still stared at each other, and Harry felt something—more—from the other girl. “Harry, I hate to interrupt, but I was wondering--” he broke off, staring between the two of them. 

“And how are you, Ginny?” 

Ginny smirked. “I’m doing well, thanks for asking. And how are you, _Rigel_?” 

Archie paled and looked between the two of them. 

“Stop pretending, Archie, I can feel your aura trying to get out from across the room. I know what Rigel’s mind feels like, and I just as much know that you’re not him.” 

Archie blinked at how astutely Ginny had summed up the entire ruse. “I suppose I have to give that one to you, but I have to ask this—how did you know?” 

“Well, after Rigel helped me root out that construct from my mind, I always felt like I was pretty familiar with his—her—mind. Over winter break I chalked up any differences in the walls as a result of you being home and around your family all of a sudden, and then Harry was basically the same at the World Cup as that winter, which made sense, as I’d met you before,” she said, nodding in Harry’s direction. 

“Then, when we got back to school, I started noticing things about Rigel that seemed oddly similar to the Harry I knew and hardly anything like the Rigel I’d seen over winter break. 

“Of course, then at the final task I was almost certain of who you were. I’ve seen how you use your magic and I’ve felt you use it, and I came to the same conclusion no matter how many options I tried. You—Harry—and Rigel have to be the same person. “So anyway, then I came to ask Harry about it and she said yes, so I guess that settles it.” 

Archie blinked. “I… guess it does.” 

* * *

The two girls continued to grow closer, and Harry realized that having Ginny in her corner was more than she could have hoped for. Ginny’s obfuscation skills had increased dramatically even since the summer, and more often than not the two girls found themselves gathered over a plot while Archie read yet another healing textbook. It was odd, but now that the ruse was over their roles had seemed to shift. Archie, always passionate about healing, had begun looking into techniques to counteract the worst kinds of damage. And Harry, well, she had realized that at some point it was important to just live life. 

One night, as they lay together on Harry’s bed, Ginny asked her a question. 

“Harry,” she began, and Harry turned to her with some trepidation. 

“Yes?” 

“Have you ever… you know… kissed anyone?” 

It was Harry’s turn to blush. “I guess I just never really had time for boys, when I was at Hogwarts.” 

“What about girls?” 

Harry’s blush deepened as her teeth toyed with her lower lip. “I guess I… never really thought about it.” 

Ginny smirked. “I’d be happy to help you think about it.” 

Harry blinked as she realized what Ginny was suggesting. Harry breathed a soft “Oh…” as Ginny leant in, and then she was lost in the soft press of Ginny’s lips against hers. 

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the 2021 rbc masquerade!


End file.
